Home » Waymo Grabs Self-Driving Car Patent For Reducing Rigidity

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Waymo Grabs Self-Driving Car Patent For Reducing Rigidity

launcht August 12, 2017 2 0

Waymo has successfully managed to gain a hold on its self-driving car patent. So what is this patent all about and how is it going to help the autonomous world? Read On!
The patent aims to reduce surface rigidity of its vehicles. What it means is that, it is now possible for those cars to cause less damage to others in the unfortunate event of a collision between the self-driving car and other vehicles or property.
According to the patent, the car would primarily be able to calculate when it was about to come across an obstacle using the various sensors, and then adjust the surface tension of the area on the vehicle where the collision would happen. What in turn it does is that it results in lesser damage to the vehicle.
With its latest advancement, researchers are not very certain on whether or not that might pose more of a risk to the passenger seated inside. Noticeably, Waymo has also obtained a patent for such a feature of its autonomous cars. It would make sense if Waymo was working out ways to ensure that while attempting to lower the amount of damage caused by a self-driving car in an accident it isn’t doing so at the risk of increasing the potential damage that could come to self-driving car passengers.
Ideally it may not be a certain method that Waymo will end up using, but the patent describes the possibility of making certain parts of the vehicle rigid with the use of tension cables.
Here’s some detailed info;
– The cables when under tension other surfaces like the hood, fenders & bumpers are bound to be more sturdy and rigid.
– With the onset of a possible collision, sensors on board will pick up signals and ascertain that a collision is about to happen.
– It also calculates, the point of impact on the vehicle and reduces the tension to the area to make it more light.
– This reduces the amount of damage to what was predicted as the eventual impact on the vehicle by the sensors, by essentially softening the surface of the vehicle.
Waymo and other companies have been making inroads and progress in the advancement of their self-driving car technology but a common concern that has persisted revolves around the safety of other people on the road. This new patent shows that Waymo is coming up with some interesting ways to combat those concerns and increase the safety factor of driverless vehicles in accident scenarios.